Flight Safety Foundation’s Summit Set For Busy Agenda

Sharing the skies with remotely piloted aircraft, factors leading to runway excursions, pilot fatigue management and fostering a safety culture will top the agenda at the 66th annual International Air Safety Summit (IASS) organized by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) from October 29 to 31 in Washington, D.C.FSF president and CEO Kevin Hiatt told a press conference last week that the event also will feature a keynote from National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener on the theme of “Is Safety Cyclical?” The IASS will also review the go-around project being led by FSF’s European Advisory Committee.

“If you take a look at the majority of accidents over the past 10 years, then coming forward to 2011, 68 percent, or in plain numbers 63 accidents, occurred during that [go-around] phase of flight, which is the approach phase of flight and landing,” Hiatt explained. “We feel that the lack of a go-around decision is the leading risk factor in landing accidents.”

But he quickly pointed out that 97 percent of all approaches are stable and successful, which he called “a great good news story.” However, “in that 3 percent that were unstable, 96 percent of those continued on for landing,” he added, “which means that only 4 percent elected to go around. What we’re trying to do now is focus on that unstable section and target that 96 percent that continued to [the runway].”